The stand taken by Kerala Education Minister P. K. Abdu Rabb on the matter of boys and girls sitting together at educational institutions should be seen as a retrograde one. Being a successor to stalwarts like Joseph Mundasserry, who revolutionised the education system of Kerala, Abdu Rabb should not have been happy in mouthing such comments. This is taken as a very fundamentalist approach in the modern day, where gender equality is a hot topic of discussion. He stirred a topic that was not really a matter of any relevance to the youngsters.
It can also be seen that the restrictions on student politics at the campus gave more teeth to the management of such institutions, who pass various rules and regulations that interfere with the personal freedom of individuals. Some would not like girls wearing jeans and now, the choice of sitting together. Even the freedom conferred on the citizens by the Constitution of India is not respected.
The 1970’s and 80’s were the golden era of campus life in Kerala, where students engaged in a lot of cultural activities from poetry to theatre and they reacted and responded to all social issues that affected society at the time. Be it a national or international issue! I remember the time when late Nelson Mandela was jailed in South Africa in 1986, the student community in Kerala protested by presenting the incidents in the form of a drama and took it all over the state. The student community was well informed and responsive.
Today, are we making our children get into their shells and be irresponsible and unresponsive?
What kind of thought leadership are we giving our children? The minister, who feels offended in lighting a traditional lamp sets what kind of example for our children to follow? And for such a man to state that all hell will break loose if our girls and boys are sitting together in a class room, I feel ashamed of being ruled by such people.
Let our children be children, and let us not make statements to poison their young minds. Let them be free to interact, find creativity and learn at the campus and not be treated based on their gender. There are much better ways to make them responsible and moralistic human beings and add value to the world than to distract them by telling them that their gender is what they need to be aware of.
Governance is what Abdu Rabb should concentrate on and try not to lose the glorious past.
— The reader is an Indian logistics manager based in Dubai
